Failure
by Ice Queen1
Summary: An alternate to the scene at the end of The Lost Boys. For all of those as irritated with Ford as I was...


Disclaimer: Not mine, and I make no money from this.

Author's Notes: I wrote this in about twenty minutes to get my own frustrations out. For now, it's a one-shot alternate scene. Tell me what you think. :-)

Set after the summer finale, an alternate to the scene with the team in the cell with Ford and his men. If Sheppard seems a little out of character, the reason is because _I_ was royally pissed at how stupid Ford was being. He was a well-done ass. :Hiss: I hope the wraith get him.

"Yeah, I put my whole team's life on the line just to prove you wrong!" Sheppard shouted, jabbing his finger into his former lieutenant's chest.

"So you admit it! You just wanted to see me fail, fail so that you could go back and tell Atlantis how crazy I've gotten because of the enzyme!" Ford shouted back. "You just want to send an ops team after me and my men!"

Sheppard had finally had it. He'd played along with Aiden's deluded little plan about taking out the Hive ship because he thought he could get everyone home to Atlantis. He'd allowed Ford's men to drug and beat on Teyla and Ronon, and let them bully McKay into fixing the wraith ship for their suicide mission. And all of this because of a former friend's and fellow officer's messed up delusions of grandeur fed by a wraith enzyme he'd become dependent on.

Sheppard smacked Aiden in the face, using the heel of his palm to shove upwards and break the cartilage on the boy's nose, snapping his head back and causing blood to spurt everywhere.

"Face it! You FUCKED UP! You FUCKED UP _ROYALLY!_ You wanted glory for yourself, it didn't matter who died in the process, you wanted to be the man in charge! You killed your own men, for Chrissakes! Does that sound like a _sane_ person to you? HUH! And you think _I_ did all of this? That _I _initiated the dart's docking procedure? You didn't THINK, Ford! You _never_ think! Didn't you read the mission logs from SG-1 when they tried to fly two of the Gua'uld's ships? Of course not! Because then you would've _known_ that when they get close to their mother ship, the docking sequence gets kicked in! The Jumpers on Atlantis do that! And you didn't once think that maybe, just _maybe_ the Wraith would have a similar device?"

Lost in his rage against the foolish boy who was most likely going to kill them all, Sheppard kicked Aiden across the holding cell's floor. Ford had the enzyme, which meant he healed faster than any other human. Sheppard had shot him in the leg and Aiden had barely flinched. Which also meant that Sheppard could kick the shit out of his former second in command and there wouldn't be a mark on him in five minutes.

"And you didn't even consider that this might have been your fault! The dart's homing device, the Wraith capturing us all, and the mission going to hell! The plan was going to fail from the very start, but you'd been on that damn drug so fucking long you couldn't see it! I tried to warn you, McKay tried to warn you, but you just ignored us because you thought we were trying to make you look bad in front of your 'men'. Your men died because of _YOU_ Aiden, not me, and not my team, _YOU_. And a _real_ commander would know that and accept the responsibility of the lives he cost. Now we're all stuck on this goddamned hive ship, about to die, and all you can think about is yourself. That's just pathetic, Ford. Just," Sheppard kicked Aiden's ribcage. "Like…" He slammed a fist into Aiden's half-wraith face. "_You_!" Sheppard finally dropped Ford to the ground and stepped away, breathing hard – not from exertion, but from still pent up rage.

"Someone's coming," Ronon interrupted quietly, stepping towards the door.

Growling, Sheppard turned from the fallen soldier to stand by the Runner. "If the chance comes to escape," he muttered quietly so only Ronon could hear, "don't bother trying to take him with you. Let the wraith finish what they started."

Ronon gave a quick, sharp nod.

The wraith approached the cell; there were three. Two guards and one who they could only assume was a commander or a minion for whoever was in charge.

"We want the one who flew the ship," the wraith hissed, his lips curled back in a demented grin.

"That'll be me," Sheppard said, swallowing tightly. He didn't really want to die at the hands of the wraith command, but if it meant allowing his team to go unharmed and give them a chance to escape, he would gladly go.

The door slid open, and Ronon stepped forwards, snarling, only to be hit with a stunner and fall back against the cell floor.

"Teyla, keep an eye on him…make sure he doesn't do anything else stupid," Sheppard said, before stepping out of the cell and allowing the door to slide shut behind him.

As Sheppard was lead off by the wraith, Teyla helped Ronon off the floor. As she slid his arm around her neck, Ronon turned to Ford who was just beginning to sit up, one hand to his bloody lip.

"If he dies, you die," Ronon promised.

Aiden Ford felt suddenly afraid for the first time since taking the enzyme.


End file.
